


The Sweet and the Bitter

by pianoforeplay



Category: U2
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-18
Updated: 2011-01-18
Packaged: 2017-10-14 21:08:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/153477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pianoforeplay/pseuds/pianoforeplay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five kisses over the span of twenty-five years.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Sweet and the Bitter

**I: 1980**  
The room was fuzzy and unfocused, air swirling about in shades of grey and green and brown. He coughed. It was dry and only made him cough again, a short wheeze from too-tight lungs. A hand reached over to clap his back and give his shoulder a light squeeze and he felt the flush rise to his face at the attention suddenly concentrated on him. He coughed again and rubbed at his stinging, watery eyes with the heel of his hand and then tried to put on a smile, lungs still spasming as they attempted to force the smoke out.

"Maybe not so much next time." The voice was kind and right next to his ear. Warm. Not meant to be condescending, but it made him frown all the same and responded with a sharp jab of his elbow to ribs. Hard. Maybe a little _too_ hard as he heard an 'oof' noise and grinned, feeling more than a bit smug.

But, it didn't last.

He felt a palm on his cheek, firm, demanding, turning his face abruptly. His grin wavered and slipped and he held back a sound, eyes darting in mild panic, focusing on yellow curls over wide orange glasses and the grey-green-blue _dark_ eyes beneath them before he squeezed his eyes shut tightly, forcing himself into bright darkness. His lips parted to let out a yelp or a snarl or an insult, but there was a sudden heat there, stilling his words. Wet heat. The hand moved from his cheek down to his neck and he felt himself lean up - of his own volition or not, he wasn't sure - lips parted, inviting and then there was the taste of alcohol and nicotine and herbs and something sweeter. Something dangerous. It pounded into him, rushing through his veins much quicker than any drug he'd ever heard of. Much more accute. Much more potent.

He heard a sound, a whimper, and wondered for a moment if it was his own before it was muffled, his mouth completely invaded by wet and slick and breath. Breath that was definitely not his own as he could barely tell if he was breathing at _all_. He was vaguely aware of his hands moving to fist warm fabric, tugging, pulling, arching. He felt a hand in his hair, matching each movement as teeth scraped over his tongue.

Finally, he opened his eyes and pulled back. Just enough to lick his lips, still tasting the gin, the sweet and the bitter mixed into one.

And he grinned, breathless.

 

 **II: 1991**  
"God _damnit_!" He punctuated the outburst by shoving his fist against the wall and didn't even wince at the impact, just unclenched his hand and shook it out, giving his knuckles a brief glance before continuing his pacing.

He could see Adam out the corner of his eye, propped up against the wall and leisurely nursing a cigarette, exuding that calm that alternately soothed Larry and drove him up the fucking wall. Which probably had something to do with the state of the current one.

Adam interrupted Larry's sigh, "It'll make Edge happy."

And he was using that _tone_. The one of appeasement, the one that silently said, "Please don't make this anymore difficult than it already is, Larry," when it was obvious that _he_ wasn't the one being unreasonable, when _he_ was apparently the only one still interested in making albums that people would actually want to _listen to_.

Larry reeled on him, a hand grabbing Adam's wrist hard enough to knock the cigarette to the floor as he pushed him against the wall. "I don't _fucking_ ," and he grabbed Adam's wrist tighter, "want to make _Edge_ ," pressed it hard to the wall at a purposefully awkward angle, "fucking _happy_ ," and gave a hard shove, his breath heavy againt Adam's neck.

He could feel Adam panting underneath him, could feel the rise and fall of his chest, the warm breath against his cheek and rush of his pulse under his thumb. Adam squirmed a little, testing the hold and bit back a groan as Larry responded by pressing tighter against him. He jammed a leg between Adam's thighs and growled at the surprisingly hard length straining under cotton and denim. He pulled back just enough to meet Adam's eyes, only a little startled to see how dark they were behind his glasses. How hungry. Hungry and wanting.

They stared at each other for another few moments, each silently daring the other to make the next move, the air humid between them. Adam squirmed again, arching against Larry's thigh and Larry shoved hard, eliciting a grunt of air as Adam's back hit the wall, their lips a breath apart. Finally, there was a growl from Adam and a flash of movement from Larry and neither knew who shifted first before teeth met lip met tongue.

 

 **III: 1994**  
He gently pushed Adam onto his back and crawled over him, pressed him into the mattress and let his body cover him, tried to will himself to become a sort of blanket, the kind that could slip easily into every crook and crevice, to warm all of him. He found Adam's earlobe with his teeth and tasted with his tongue as his hand moved over Adam's chest, fingertips grazing a nipple and grinning at the sharp gasp he found he could pull from Adam with such a bare touch. He could get drunk on these sounds, he knew. Could soak up the groans and the gasps and the whimpers, to say nothing of the way the man _moved_ beneath him, all loose-limbed in his surrender.

He let his lips roam lower, tracing a vein down his neck, feeling the pulse under his tongue before pressing his lips there and sucking lightly, releasing before he could leave a mark. He gave him another slow lick, taking his time and taking advantage before moving down to his collarbone, finding a home in the dip there where it met his shoulder and found himself wondering how it was possible for a human being to taste so damn good.

He gave a roll of his hips and moaned as his cock slid over the skin of Adam's pelvis. So smooth in both places. Smooth and hard all at once and he felt a shiver course through him from neck to toe.

Adam arched beneath him with a high whine and Larry felt blunt nails scratch over the small of his back as he shifted a little. Still pressed hard against Adam's side, Larry slid a hand down Adam's chest and stomach and lower, rubbing firmly until he had a handful of throbbing, pulsing heat. Adam's body shuddered beneath him and Larry clamped his teeth onto Adam's shoulder, trying to still him, trying to make him enjoy it as his hand gave one slow stroke from base to tip, thumb swiping over the head before his fist smoothed back down again in a slow, even rhythm. He rocked his own hips again gently, enjoying the friction of Adam's skin against his.

A deep groan rocked from Adam's lips and into Larry's body, shaking him. He squeezed, gently at first and then increasingly harder, his hand still moving slow as his lips traveled over Adam's neck, lips sucking below his jaw. Adam gave another groan as his head swiftly turned and ducked to capture Larry's mouth in a greedy, hungry taste. Larry gave a harsh tug and Adam answered with another moan, his tongue forcing into Larry's mouth, filling him in that way Larry craved and he clung to it. Clung to all of it with his hand and his mouth and his cock, binding them together. Clung tight, holding firm while it lasted, while he could still have it, while he could still _let_ himself have it.

Clung until Adam shook and shattered and released beneath him, mouths still together in harsh breaths and whimpered moans.

 

 **IV: 1995**  
"... Oh." His voice is soft and empty. Hollow.

Larry opened his mouth to say more - something, _anything_ \- but Adam held a hand up, palm out and shook his head. Larry's mouth closed and he swallowed instead, nodding and ducking his head to rub the back of his neck. He could feel Adam's eyes on him, feel the weight of everything neither of them were saying, the air tense and electric, threatening to swallow them both.

Adam cleared his throat and hesitated a moment and Larry could feel him look away. "So, ehm... when's she due?"

Larry flicked a tongue over his lower lip, head still ducked. "October." He could sense Adam slowly nodding, processing and adding.

"October."

"Yeah."

Larry looked up to watch Adam take a few steps back, still nodding and then swiftly turning to head out of the room. But Larry was only a step behind him. He reached out and grabbed Adam by the wrist, tugged him to face him and then let go before Adam could wrench himself free.

And froze.

Adam stared at him with pleading eyes. Red-rimmed and icy blue. He was shaking nearly imperceptibly and his lips parted and Larry found himself afraid of anything he might say. He didn't want accusations or angry words or explanations or - knowing Adam - apologies. So, he grabbed Adam's wrist again in one smooth, quick motion and pulled him close, crushed them chest to chest as his other hand reached up to hold onto the back of Adam's neck. He held him there. Lips and tongue forcing him to open, choking back a sigh and a moan and a sob as his tongue found Adam's, breathing him in and breathing him out. He could feel them both shaking together and Adam's free hand found its way between them, palm pressed to the front of Larry's chest and they both groaned before Adam gave a forceful push.

They stumbled apart, gasping and panting and Larry reached up to lightly touch his bottom lip, tasting copper and nicotine. Adam turned again after one last look and Larry didn't follow him.

It'd ended too soon, but in some ways, Larry guessed, it'd ended far too late.

 

 **V: 2005**  
He squints hrough the glare of orange and red and green lights, his pulse pounding in time with the rhythm of his arms, a beat he knows better than his own breathing as he kicks it up a notch. He can feel a sharp pain already starting in his elbow and knows he'll have to deal with that during the break before encore.

His eyes scan the first couple rows of people, making out what he can against the throbbing lights and the pounding in his ears. Bono's blocking a good amount of his view on the left so he looks to Edge who's about to make his way onto the ramp and suddenly it feels like the place is on _fire_. The beat's shooting out from his arms and his legs and he knows he's driving it, but it doesn't feel like he has any real control whatsoever. Maybe Bono does or maybe Edge or maybe the audience or maybe all of them as one. All just riding the wave and carrying it out.

And these are the moments he lives for. He lets a smile creep onto his face as his arms work harder, beating the rhythm violently, sweat glistening on his skin and his gaze is caught by the movement on his left.

Adam saunters over to Bono and they're both grinning as flailing hands reach out below them. They ignore the screams and the yelling, Bono singing for all of them and none of them, but mostly for Adam as he prowls around him, a hand on his shoulder and then the back of his neck and a little lower.

Larry knows what's next and swallows hard as he turns his head. He forces himself to focus on his hands, on his feet, on the rhythm he's beating out, on his lifeblood, on Edge's path around the ellipse, on anything but the two people directly in front of him. It only takes a second, he knows. It's short, quick, but not painless. Not for him.

He can see them pull apart out the corner of his eye and he waits just a little bit longer, waits for the smirk he knows is on Adam's lips to disappear.

Later, he'll give Adam a smirk of his own along with a joking remark about having to deal with Bono's bad breath and Adam will laugh and nod and assure him it was a most unpleasant experience and Bono will swipe his towel at Adam and then throw it at Larry's face and they'll all laugh and Larry will turn his back and duck his head and gather up his things without another word.

And they'll all leave in separate cars and head to separate hotel rooms and Larry will sink into a cold, unfamiliar mattress and remember bruising kisses and paths untaken.

 **end.**

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [Five Kisses Challenge](http://community.livejournal.com/u2slash/422063.html) and beta'd by shineslikeaspoon and shihadchick. Initially posted [here](http://community.livejournal.com/u2slash/423446.html) on 2/16/2006.


End file.
